I’m retired…now what?

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The thought of retirement is a notion that helps many employees make it through their day. However, some do not have a plan that spans beyond their initial weeks of relaxation.

With everyone experiencing events differently, life after retirement may prove to be one person’s utopia and another individual’s nightmare.

Doris Peterson decided to relinquish her position as a real estate agent just 30 years ago. After suffering from a fall, she decided to relocate just three miles away from her home in the Champions area for the Conservatory Senior Living, a community-enriched retirement facility on Cypresswood.

“I do exercises five days a week, three times are the aqua exercises and that helps me keep the old body moving,” Peterson said in regards to staying active. “I think it’s a great place to be. There’s bingo, bridge, poker, all kind of games, and jigsaw puzzles. There’s always something to do.”

In order to maintain their lifestyle before retirement, some have found a need for an additional source of income. A resident of Champions, Julie Wesley, retired after serving 32 years in her field full-time. However, she now works six months out of the year in order to make payments on her acquired fees.

“I hate that I have to go back to work. If you have enough money to manage your bills then that is a blessing,” she said. “I’m going to make just enough money to pay my taxes and get my bills caught up and then I’m on my way back home.”

Packing up and visiting different sites is a common hope for many retirees. However, Peggy Birch and her husband made that dream a reality. After retiring in 1991, the two purchased a motor home and travelled the United States.

Unfortunately, Birch’s better half passed away in 2005. Her advice to other seniors is to continue to help others but to not lose focus in taking care of themselves.

“You need to keep busy and you need to be with people. Keep doing things for other people as well as yourself,” she said. “Stay as healthy as you can, that’s very important.”

Still, some leave the workforce unsatisfied with the turn of events. Jean Rhodes, a Klein resident and retired educator, said the salary teachers receive is too low and does not prepare them to retire.

Life after retirement is not even close to what she envisioned at the start of her career in 1976, she said.

“We’re the backbone of the country because doctors, lawyers and just about everyone had to be taught somewhere. The government taxes your retirement until you’re 65. How do you tax someone on a fixed income?” she said. “It’s horrible because as a young woman, you try to prepare for retirement by going to work through rain, sleet or snow but this is not what I pictured.”